Army Staff Sgt. Thaddeus S. Montgomery

Died January 20, 2010 Serving During Operation Enduring Freedom

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29, of West Yellowstone, Mont.; assigned to 2nd Battalion, 12th Infantry Regiment, 4th Brigade Combat Team, 4th Infantry Division, Fort Carson, Colo.; died Jan. 20 at Korengal Outpost, Afghanistan, of injuries sustained in a non-combat-related incident.

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Also deployed to South Korea, Iraq

The Associated Press

Many who knew Thaddeus Montgomery knew he loved the outdoors — so much so that he took a job in Yellowstone Park, where he spent the summer in 2001.

Greg Forsythe of West Yellowstone, Mont., had known Montgomery and called him a “unique individual and a good kid.”

Montgomery, 29, died Jan. 20 at Lorengal Outpost, Afghanistan, of noncombat related injuries. He was assigned to Fort Carson, Colo.

A decorated soldier, he served in South Korea and Iraq before deploying to Afghanistan.

Montgomery, who was raised in Decatur, Ala., is survived by his mother, Debra Hays of Florence, Ky.; his father, Thaddeus Montgomery of Alexandria, Va.; his fiancée, Yih Shu Wong of Malaysia; and a young son, Thaddeus Montgomery III, who lives in Cullman, Ala.

Montgomery’s mother told the Altoona (Pa.) Mirror that since her son’s death, condolences have “come from all over the world,” and she has been told her son will be remembered as a man “who helped his friends.”

“He tried to make it easier for his guys,” she said.